‘Time is our utmost enemy’: First responders’ experiences of ‘While Waiting For the Ambulance’ assignments in rural environments – A phenomenological study

Abstract

Firefighters around the world have the ability to provide first aid before ambulance staff arrive. In Sweden, this assignment is called ‘While Waiting For the Ambulance’ (WWFA). There is limited knowledge about WWFA in rural environments, therefore the aim of this study was to describe the WWFA assignment in a rural environment from the perspective of the firefighters and the ambulance staff. A descriptive design was used with a reflective lifeworld approach, including 16 telephone interviews with firefighters and ambulance staff. The COREQ checklist was applied. A directed responsibility emerges towards affected persons with a situation-adapted attitude during alarms in a WWFA assignment. The firefighters and ambulance staff are each other’s support with a simultaneous need for support from involved organisations. To strengthen this support, training is required, consisting of interprofessional training, feedback from relevant organisations about first aid efforts and expansion of WWFA assignments. Finally, there is a need for a more coordinated picture in order to provide better conditions for future action by the organisations involved, with increased opportunities to save lives in individual local environments.